Metal Odyssey – Stone Picks His Top 10 Hard Rock Albums Of 2012!

Metal Odyssey – Stone Picks His Top 10 Hard Rock Albums Of 2012!

After I banged my METAL brains to a pulp in compiling a Top 30 Metal Albums Of 2012 list, I decided to keep the Hard Rock side of the street to a cool and tidy Top 10 Of 2012. Okay, there’s really 11 Top Hard Rock Albums Of 2012; cause there’s a tie. Couldn’t help it. My favorite METAL troll who lives deep in the Pennsylvania woods told me a couple of days ago: “No one ever said it would be easy, Stone”.

Below you will find the 10 Hard Rock Albums (all released in 2012) that I turned to most often to get psyched-out of my Hard Rockin’ mind. I truly thought this list over long and hard, while making certain the overall quality of the albums stand tall on their own respective musical merits.

In my heart, KISS will always be #1; only SLASH Featuring Myles Kennedy And The Conspirators found their way to my Rockin’ soul in 2012. That counts big time. The ultra-fabulous return of Van Halen, Trixter and Soundgarden are just 3 stories among many Hard Rock comebacks during 2012. What sensational comeback albums these 3 bands created and they’re included in my Top 10! Spider Rockets appear in my Top Ten for good reason; their Hard Rockin’ bite is infectious!

Switzerland’s The Order and N. Ireland’s Million Dollar Reload are 2 bands that released unbelievable albums this past year! Both of these bands took me by incredible Hard Rockin’ surprise! The word elite comes to my mind, whenever I listen to the new albums from Lynyrd Skynyrd and Black Country Communion. As for Georgia’s very own Jackyl… their new album Best Of Show is a combination of Hard Rockin’ fun and whoop-ass that I am so very thankful for.

Thank you for supporting Hard Rock and any/all bands seen or heard on Metal Odyssey this past year. I greatly appreciate your every visit and loyalty. I also want to thank each band listed below for existing. Metal be thy name.

New Jersey ROCKS and SPIDER ROCKETS are a HUGE reason why The Garden State is its own Rocktopia. I absolutely LOVE the approach that SPIDER ROCKETS has towards Hard Rock and there’s really no other band like them out there. BUY this whiz-bang album and you’ll be BITTEN by the sensation of Hard Rockin’ sound that is SPIDER ROCKETS. I got bitten. Yup, I did.

A KISS album that has tapped into Classic Hard Rock, like this iconic band’s life depended on it. A KISS album that is not resting on any laurels. A KISS album that I’m proud to own and recommend to the world! If MONSTERis too loud and too much fun, then… you’re probably too damn constipated and uptight to begin with.

More than just a “new” or “comeback” Soundgarden album. This is an accomplishment from Soundgarden, with lyrical brilliance and songs that are executed with unique and memorable musicianship and vocals. I can easily place King Animal atop the back catalog of Soundgarden albums and preach to the world that this band has returned in (what feels like to me) mystical fashion.

An inspirational album both lyrically and musically. By the way, LYNYRD SKYNYRD is still kicking Southern Hard Rockin’ ass in 2012! Each LYNYRD SKYNYRD lineup is legendary, Last Of A Dyin’ Breed is proof once again.

#1

SLASH – Featuring Myles Kennedy And The Conspirators

APOCALYPTIC LOVE

As I see and hear it, once an album can move you, lifting your Rockin’ soul to new heights as Apocalyptic Love has done for me, then it’s a #1 album for certain. The combination of SLASH’s guitar and Myles Kennedy’s vocals were destined to unite. It had to be! At least that’s how I feel and hear it.

The chemistry of this entire band just seems to be right on the bullseye, overflowing from every song on this exceptional album. Maybe it’s just me. Regardless, I couldn’t be more confident and psyched-out by my choice of ApocalypticLove being my #1 Hard Rock album of 2012. Metal be thy name!

It’s no secret how much I love BCC….but as we took the RV up the Spanish coast to visit family this Christmas – the albums on my stereo were Monster, La Futura, and Music from another Dimension. Some serious hard rock got released in 2012 – and I’ve also been playing the Trixter album and VH to death. let’s hope 2013 is another hardrockin’ year! Happy New Year to you, man! \m/\m/